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From:Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Funding more than doubles from €650,000 to €1.5 million to support businesses and organisations to turn circular ideas into practical solutions

Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment with special responsibility for the Circular Economy Alan Dillon has announced the launch of the2026 Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS), with total funding increasing from €650,000 to€1.5 million.

The 2026 funding round opens today (14 September), with individual grants expected to range from €50,000 to €150,000.

The increased investment represents a significant expansion of Government support for circular economy innovation. It will help businesses and social enterprises to develop and implement practical solutions that reduce waste, extend the life of products and materials, and make better use of resources.

Launching the 2026 scheme, Minister Dillon said:

“Ireland’s transition to a circular economy presents a major opportunity to reduce waste and emissions, conserve valuable resources and build a more sustainable and resilient economy. That is why I am delighted to increase funding for the Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme – from €650,000 to €1.5 million in 2026.

“This is real investment in circular innovation. It will help organisations move beyond ideas and develop practical solutions that can be tested, implemented and scaled. Whether it is redesigning products, increasing reuse and repair, reducing food waste, finding new uses for materials or developing innovative circular business models, this funding will help turn innovation into action.

“The Circular Economy Strategy 2026–2028 sets out an ambitious programme of action across Government and across key sectors of our economy. The Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme is an important part of delivering that ambition. By investing directly in innovators, businesses and communities, we are helping to build the solutions, business models and technologies that will make circularity a reality across Ireland.”

Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme

The Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme is a Government initiative that is designed to support innovative projects that advance the circular economy in Ireland. Since its launch in 2021, the scheme has awarded over €2.4 million to 50 projects, supporting innovation across areas including food waste, plastics, single-use plastics, packaging, construction, textiles and general waste.

The 2026 scheme will place a strong emphasis on projects that can demonstrate practical implementation and measurable circular economy impacts, including approaches that keep products, components and materials in use for longer and at their highest possible value.

The increased funding is aligned with the implementation of Ireland’s Circular Economy Strategy 2026–2028. The strategy places a stronger emphasis on moving from policy development to practical delivery. It identifies innovation as an important enabler of Ireland’s circular transition.

CIRCULÉIRE and Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR)

For 2026, the scheme will be administered in partnership with CIRCULÉIRE and its secretariat Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR). CIRCULÉIRE is Ireland’s Circular Innovation Network, an industry‑led, cross-sectoral, public‑private platform supporting Irish businesses to capture circular advantage since 2020. CIRCULÉIRE will manage the application, evaluation, administrative processes for the Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme. It will steward successful awardees, as they deliver on their projects.

Dr Geraldine Brennan, IMR’s Director of Circular Economy Innovation, said:

“CIRCULÉIRE has evolved the fund to make it more accessible and focused on impact-oriented implementation. Through broadened eligibility criteria, we are opening the door to more ambitious projects, particularly those advancing higher-value circular economy ‘R’ strategies including ‘as-is reuse’, repair, remanufacturing, circular design and industrial symbiosis.

“The increased funding available in 2026 provides an important opportunity for organisations to move from promising ideas to practical demonstration and implementation, generating evidence and learning that can support wider adoption of circular solutions across Ireland.”

The 2026 Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme will support projects focused on priority areas for Ireland’s circular economy, including:

The scheme is intended to support projects that can demonstrate tangible environmental, economic and social benefits and contribute to the wider development of a more circular Irish economy.

“The Circular Economy Strategy 2026–2028 provides the framework for accelerating Ireland’s transition to a more circular economy. But strategies only deliver when they are translated into action. This €1.5 million investment will help do exactly that – backing organisations with the ambition and ideas to change how we design, make, use, reuse and recover products and materials.

“I encourage businesses, social enterprises and community and voluntary organisations with innovative circular economy projects to take advantage of this opportunity and bring forward proposals that can make a real difference.”

Full details on the application process for the Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme are available throughCIRCULÉIRE.

Applications will remain open until12 October(at 23:59 Irish time).

An online information session will take place on21 September. Interested applicants can register through theCEIGS information session registration page.

[Image #1]:Dr Geraldine Brennan, IMR’s Director of Circular Economy Innovation and Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment with special responsibility for the Circular Economy Alan Dillon, pictured at the launch of the €1.5 million Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme.

The Circular Economy Fund provides essential financial support annually – across a wide range of initiatives, as prescribed for under Section 8 (9) of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2022, including the Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme, EPA Circular Economy Programme, Anti-Dumping Initiative, Irish Environmental Network and Food Circle project.

The Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS) is a Government of Ireland initiative led by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE). The purpose of this grants scheme is to provide support to projects which work in the circular economy space, with the aim of advancing the circular economy in Ireland and raising awareness of the need to transition to a circular economy. By funding these projects and enterprises, the CEIGS directly supports the growth of the circular economy in Ireland and provides high-profile examples of best practice.

2025 Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme

Quality Technology Management Solutions

Technological University of the Shannon

CIRCULÉIRE is Ireland’s Circular Innovation Network, designed and led by Irish Manufacturing Research and funded by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE). Established in 2020, it supports Irish businesses to identify, test and scale circular solutions through technical expertise, research & innovation programmes, skills development and cross‑sector collaboration, which leverages advanced technologies.

About Irish Manufacturing Research:

Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) is a leading Research and Technology Organisation providing a portfolio of research, training, and consultancy services to Industry across the following four thematic pillars: Digitisation, Sustainable manufacturing, Design for Manufacturing and Robotics and Automation. IMR works with leading global and indigenous brands to demystify, and derisk new and emerging technologies and to deliver high impact collaborative research and services to enable advanced manufacturing for a broad range of clients across Ireland’s manufacturing network.